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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. H. BLAKE. AUTOMATIC FOLDING CHAIR.

No. 400.183. Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

Wei/Mmmm (.No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

H. H. BLAKE.

AUTOMATIC FOLDING CHAIR. No. 400,183. Patented Mar. 26, 1889.

TSITZ E LLM ESSES v 1 i* NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IIENRY H. BLAKE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND THOMAS A. NOBLE.

AUTOMATIC FOLDING CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 400,183, dated March 26, 1889.

Application filed February 17, 1887. Serial No. 227,994- (NO mdel-I To all whom zit may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY H. BLAKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburg, county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatically- Folding Chairs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the acio companying drawings, in which Figure l indicates a perspective View of my improved automatically-folding chair having its seat not forced down but resting upon its seat-springs. Fig. 2 indicates a detached sectional view of the seat and side of the chair. The dotted lines indicate the position of the seat, the., when the former is relieved from pressure and thrown by the automatic action of the seat-springs toward the back of the zo chair. Fig. 3 indicates a side elevation of chair, partly in section, showing the inner side of the opposite side of same, the forward part of the side in which the seat is supported being broken away to show the springs C and c.

The object of my invention is to produce an automatically-folding chair adapted especially for theaters and public halls. To this end I propose to construct opera or theater chairs in such manner that when pressure is 5o applied to the seat forcing the latter down into position its seat-springs are deected with sufficient force to throw or swing the seat toward the back of the chair at the moment the weight is removed.

In the drawings, A indicates the body of the chair, which may be constructed in ordinary or suitable manner, and is provided with an ordinary seat, A', which is securely attached to a transverse cross-bar, B. This cross- 40 barB is provided with triangular-shaped ends, which project into perforations or apertures in the upper portion of the seat-supports and rest upon a metallic spring, C, which is attached rigidly at its rear end to the rear portion of each side of the chair. c indicates a small auxiliary spring attached to each side of the chair, and proj ecting at its forward end downward into and toward the front portion of the apertures in the upper portion of the seat-supports in which the triangular ends of 5o the cross-bar B engage.

The operation of the device is as follows: The seat being tilted forward is caused by its own weight to lie in the position shown in Fig. l, the triangular ends of the cross-bars resting on the free ends of the lower springs. At the moment the `weight of the occupant forces the seat downward the triangular ends of the cross-bar pass below the downwardlyprojecting ends of the auxiliary springs and 6o force the springs C down until the ends of the cross-bar rest on the' bottom of the apertures into which they enter. As soon as the weight is removed, the springs C throw the cross-bar upward and the inner side of its ends come suddenly into contact with the downwardlyprojecting ends of the auxiliary springs. This imparts a tiling action to the bar turning it, so that the seat swings back toward the rear of the chair. 7o

It is obvious that the auxiliary springs may be dispensed with as the same result can be secured by forming shoulders in the rear upper portions of the apertures to engage the inner sides of the triangular ends and tilt the bar when the latter is thrown up by the action of the seat-springs. It is also obvious that in lieu of the seat-springs the chair might be providedwith an air or water compressing apparatus adapted to compress air or water 8o through the force derived from the weight of the chair occupant, and to throw the seat backward by means of force derived from such pressure at the instant the use of the seat is discontinued. Some of the advantages of my invention are, first, simplicity of construction and economy of manufacture; second, it has few parts, is durable, and not likely to get out of order, and, third, as the cross-bar is arranged back of the center of the seat the lat- 9o ter can be tilted forward, and is caused to remain by it own weight almost down to the position of use, differing materially in this respect from other spring-seats, which require the expenditures of considerable force to pull them down into position and must be held down until sat upon.

Having described my invention, what I arms or sides of the chai r at the upper rein' end of the slots er openings, and projeiing 15 downwardly and terminating nenr the bob toni thereof, adapted to engage the leute edges of the trinngu]arly-shaped ende of: the cross claim, and desire to Secure by 'Letters Patent, 1S-

In an automatic folding Chair, the eo1nbi nation of n` seat Supported by and adapted to swing baekWzu-dly upon n cross-bnr having 11'innguin'rly-shnped ends loosely pivoted `in 1 bar when said Turris thrown ulnvnrd,whereby slots or hearings in the forward upper partei y the Sent is tilted or thrown vertically toward 2o the :mns or Sidesof the sn1ne,sprngs secured the beek of the ehm'r, Substantially ns and within the arms or sides of the seine, adapted for the purpose herein described.

:o when extended to support the ends ofthe eroSS- .HENRY II 'I'LAK E.

hm' in the upper part ofi the Slots or benin W'ilieeses: and when Coi'npressed to sink toward the bot- JOHN S. KENNEDYq 1on1 of the sinne, and springs attached To the 1). LEVIS. 

